CDL to unlock hidden empire worth $6b for growth, targets dividend payout of at least 35%

In addition to the divestment proceeds, CDL expects more than $6 billion of projected cash inflows through to fiscal year 2029 from property development sales.

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE

Published Sep 28, 2026, 07:52 AM

Updated Sep 28, 2026, 05:13 PM

SINGAPORE – Hotel and property group City Developments Limited (CDL) will be unlocking $6 billion in mature and non-core assets and redeploying the capital to drive growth.

It will also target an annual dividend payout of at least 35% of its reported profit after tax and minority interests per year in the next three financial years, among other things.

Shares of CDL were trading at $7.84 at noon on Sept 28, down by more than 5%, after it revealed in a much-anticipated strategic review clearer plans to take the company forward.

Under GET+ – a three-year refreshed strategy for 2027 to 2029 – roughly $6 billion worth of assets could be unlocked through divestment, securitisation or optimisation in four sectors – residential, commercial, hospitality and living.

The targeted asset divestment mix comprises 45% commercial assets, 30% hospitality, 20% legacy residential and other assets, and 5% from the living sector assets.

In addition to the divestment proceeds, CDL expects more than $6 billion of projected cash inflows through to financial year 2029 from property development sales, supported by future cash collections from contracted sales and its existing development pipeline.

These projected cash inflows are in addition to the $6 billion divestment target.

CDL will also deploy $5 billion of growth capital across the four sectors and in markets where the group has established capabilities, local knowledge and opportunities to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Singapore will remain the principal market for new investments.

About 60% of the funds will be targeted for deployment in Singapore, 30% in China and Japan, and 10% in other markets.

Sherman Kwek, CDL’s chief executive, said during a press conference that despite the China property market remaining weak, Shanghai, where demand from high-net-worth individuals for luxury properties is still rising, remains a growth area for the group.

Hospitality will also be a key area of focus under its GET+ strategy. CDL wants to optimise its hotel portfolio by keeping the best assets, upgrading promising ones and selling selected properties to unlock cash or value.

CDL plans to sell about $1.8 billion worth of hotels by financial year 2029, which would make up 30% of its overall $6 billion divestment target. When asked, CDL officials were unable to reveal the hotels earmarked for divestment.

The group has a global portfolio of 165 hotels with around 48,000 rooms, including 88 owned hotels.

Of these, 54 hotels, including two opening in the next 12 months, are directly held by CDL and valued at around $8.6 billion. They exclude hotels under CDL Hospitality Trusts and Millennium and Copthorne Hotels New Zealand Limited.

When asked about plans for its wholly owned global hospitality arm Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), CDL’s officials replied that the company will continue expanding its hotel portfolio in key gateway cities and has hired suitable candidates for the chief financial officer and chief commercial officer roles.

The GET+ strategy also targets to deliver a 55% net gearing by financial year 2029; more than $1 billion in profit after tax and minority interests to be realised from divestment gains; and $10 billion in assets under management (AUM) by financial year 2029 from $5 billion in AUM as at June 30, 2026.

Fund management will become a more significant part of CDL’s capital model, comprising new and existing listed real estate investment trust platforms and an expanded private capital platform via funds, partnerships and joint ventures.

Kwek Leng Beng, CDL’s executive chairman, said in a statement that the strategic review sharpens the group’s priorities and sets a clear direction.

The elder Kwek, who is also Sherman’s father, was not present at the press conference though, and was unable to address questions on leadership succession at CDL.

Sherman noted that the company’s refreshed road map and measurable outcomes offer greater accountability for what CDL needs to deliver as the group works to strengthen its balance sheet, improve capital productivity and build a higher quality earnings base to maximise shareholder value.

On why CDL’s shares fell, RHB analyst Vijay Natarajan said expectations for the strategic review had already been priced in, while weak market conditions and the interest rate outlook weighed on sentiment. Investors may also be waiting for more details on how the group will execute the plan.

He noted that the review did not address boardroom issues or how the chief executive’s performance targets and remuneration would be tied to the strategy despite market debate over both matters.

Some analysts noted that the outcome of the strategic review was more of a refresh than a reset.

They noted that divesting $6 billion worth of assets in the current market will not be easy, and that fund management is not a business CDL has expertise in , presenting execution risks for management . More details on where CDL intends to invest its $5 billion target are also lacking.

Still, other analysts said investors should welcome the group’s clearer plans to unlock value and concrete targets that make execution measurable.

The strategic review, which aims to optimise the group’s global portfolio and capital allocation priorities, was first announced at its earnings briefing in February 2026.

Global advisory firm Teneo had been engaged to start the assessment process around September 2025, and was initially slated to complete it by June.

Sherman said CDL’s board was united behind the review, which was “timely”, given the internal disputes between him and his father in 2025.

In February 2025, Kwek Leng Beng filed a lawsuit, accusing his son of an attempted boardroom coup. The public dispute between father and son lasted for about two weeks, before the older Kwek dropped the suit in mid-March 2025.

It was resolved by August 2025, when the older Kwek said CDL’s executives had “put past issues behind us”, and that the board and management were aligned on effective execution and value creation.

CDL has aggressively accelerated its capital recycling efforts, yielding $2 billion in contracted divestments in 2025. The contracted divestments included the sale of Quayside Isle@Sentosa Cove, which was completed in February 2026.

除了资产剥离所得收益外，CDL 预计到 2029 财年，房地产开发销售还将带来超过 60 亿美元的现金流入。

照片：联合早报档案

发布于 2026 年 9 月 28 日上午 7:52

更新于2026年9月28日下午5:13

新加坡——酒店及房地产集团城市发展有限公司（CDL）将释放价值 60 亿美元的成熟及非核心资产，并将资金重新部署以推动增长。

除其他事项外，该公司还将力争在未来三个财政年度内，每年向股东派发至少相当于税后利润和少数股东权益后利润 35% 的股息。

9 月 28 日中午，CDL 的股价为 7.84 美元，下跌超过 5%，此前该公司在一份备受期待的战略评估报告中披露了更清晰的公司发展计划。

根据 GET+（一项为期三年的 2027 年至 2029 年的更新战略），通过剥离、证券化或优化四个领域的资产（住宅、商业、酒店和生活），可以释放价值约 60 亿美元的资产。

目标资产剥离组合包括 45% 的商业资产、30% 的酒店资产、20% 的传统住宅和其他资产，以及 5% 的生活行业资产。

除了出售所得款项外，CDL 预计到 2029 财年，房地产开发销售将带来超过 60 亿美元的现金流入，这得益于已签订合同的销售和现有开发项目的后续现金收入。

这些预计现金流入是在 60 亿美元的撤资目标之外的额外收入。

CDL还将向这四个行业以及集团已建立能力、本地知识和机会的市场投入50亿美元的增长资本，以产生有吸引力的风险调整后回报。

新加坡仍将是新投资的主要市场。

其中约 60% 的资金将用于新加坡，30% 用于中国和日本，10% 用于其他市场。

城市发展有限公司首席执行官郭雪敏在新闻发布会上表示，尽管中国房地产市场依然疲软，但上海仍然是该集团的增长区域，因为上海高净值人士对豪华房产的需求仍在上升。

酒店业也将是其“GET+”战略的重点领域。城市发展有限公司（CDL）希望通过保留优质资产、升级潜力资产以及出售部分物业来优化其酒店组合，从而释放现金或提升价值。

CDL计划在2029财年前出售价值约18亿美元的酒店，这将占其60亿美元整体资产剥离目标的30%。当被问及具体拟出售的酒店时，CDL官员未能透露。

该集团在全球拥有 165 家酒店，约 48,000 间客房，其中包括 88 家自有酒店。

其中，CDL直接持有54家酒店，包括两家将于未来12个月内开业的酒店，总价值约为86亿美元。这些酒店不包括CDL酒店信托基金和新西兰千禧国敦酒店有限公司旗下的酒店。

当被问及旗下全资拥有的全球酒店集团千禧国敦酒店（M&C）的未来计划时，城市发展有限公司（CDL）的官员表示，公司将继续在主要门户城市扩大其酒店组合，并已聘请合适的候选人担任首席财务官和首席商务官职位。

GET+ 战略的目标还包括：到 2029 财年实现 55% 的净负债率；通过资产剥离收益实现超过 10 亿美元的税后利润和少数股东权益；以及到 2029 财年将资产管理规模 (AUM) 从 2026 年 6 月 30 日的 50 亿美元提高到 100 亿美元。

基金管理将成为城市发展有限公司资本模式中更重要的一部分，包括新的和现有的上市房地产投资信托平台，以及通过基金、合作关系和合资企业扩大的私募资本平台。

城市发展有限公司（CDL）执行主席郭令明在一份声明中表示，此次战略评估将明确集团的优先事项，并设定明确的发展方向。

老郭（也是谢尔曼的父亲）没有出席新闻发布会，因此无法回答有关CDL领导层继任的问题。

谢尔曼指出，公司更新后的路线图和可衡量的成果，让 CDL 在努力加强资产负债表、提高资本生产力和建立更高质量的盈利基础以最大限度地提高股东价值的过程中，对公司需要交付的成果有了更大的问责制。

关于CDL股价下跌的原因，RHB分析师Vijay Natarajan表示，市场对战略评估的预期已被消化，而疲软的市场环境和利率前景也令投资者情绪承压。投资者可能还在等待集团将如何执行该计划的更多细节。

他指出，尽管市场对这两件事都存在争议，但此次审查并未涉及董事会问题，也没有涉及首席执行官的绩效目标和薪酬将如何与战略挂钩。

一些分析人士指出，战略评估的结果更像是一次更新，而不是一次重置。

他们指出，在当前市场环境下剥离价值60亿美元的资产并非易事，而且基金管理并非CDL的专长领域，这给管理层带来了执行风险。此外，CDL计划将50亿美元的目标投资方向也缺乏更多细节。

不过，其他分析师表示，投资者应该欢迎该集团更清晰的价值释放计划和可衡量执行情况的具体目标。

该战略审查旨在优化集团的全球投资组合和资本配置重点，于 2026 年 2 月的盈利简报会上首次宣布。

全球咨询公司 Teneo 受聘于 2025 年 9 月左右开始评估流程，最初计划在 6 月完成。

谢尔曼表示，鉴于他与父亲在 2025 年之间的内部纠纷，CDL 董事会一致支持这项审查，而且这项审查“非常及时”。

2025年2月，郭令明提起诉讼，指控其子企图发动董事会政变。父子间的公开争执持续了约两周，之后老郭令明于2025年3月中旬撤诉。

到 2025 年 8 月，这个问题得到了解决。当时，老郭表示，CDL 的高管们已经“将过去的问题抛诸脑后”，董事会和管理层在有效执行和创造价值方面达成了一致。

城市发展有限公司 (CDL) 积极加快资本回收利用，计划在 2025 年通过合同出售资产获得 20 亿美元的收益。这些合同出售的资产包括圣淘沙湾码头岛 (Quayside Isle@Sentosa Cove)，该交易已于 2026 年 2 月完成。